2100 BC – 150 BC

The Growth of Civilizations
•1. Classical Greece - 2100 BC – 150 BC
•2. Rome and Early Christianity – 750 BC – AD 500
•3. The Americas – 1000 BC – AD 1500
•4. Empires of China and India – 350 BC – AD 600

Ancient Greece
2100 BC to 150 BC
1. Early Greece
2. The Classical Age
3. Greek Achievements
4. Alexander the Great
•The small, rugged peninsula in southern Europe –
Greece – home of early advanced civilizations
•From the Minoans and the Mycenaeans to Sparta
and Athens to the empire of Alexander the Great, the
Greeks left a legacy that helped shape Western
Civilization

•Centered around trade

•2100 – 150 BC
The Geography of Greece
•Ancient Greece is located
in southern Europe.
•It is located on the
Mediterranean and Aegean
seas.
•The land is mountainous
and the civilization does
not grow around a river.

Bronze Age Greece
•2100 – 150 BC

Crete: Minoan Civilization
(Palace at Knossos)
•2100 – 150 BC
•The Minoans
were the earliest
people in the
Region.
•They were
traders but their
civilization
disappeared
around 1400 BC.

Minoan Civilization
•2100 – 150 BC
oExcavations done at Knossos
reveal clues about their life:
oPrivate rooms
oBasic Plumbing
oArtwork- tied to the sea

Minoan Civilization
•2100 – 150 BC
•Language-
Linear A-
cant decipher
•Most Minoan images of priests are women

•2100 – 150 BC
The Mycenaean Civilization
•The Mycenaeans arose next
and were most famous for the
Trojan War.
• They declined around 1200
BC.

The Trojan Wars
•2100 – 150 BC
• Fought between Troy (Turkey) and Mycenae (Greece)
• The Trojan Horse-not sure if the battle took place

•2100 – 150 BC
Homer: The “Heroic Age”
•The Odyssey – the account of Greek hero – Odysseus in the Trojan War
•The Ilaid is the second account

•2100 – 150 BC
The Mask of Agamemnon
•King of Mycenae
who was murdered
by his wife’s
mistress

•2100 – 150 BC

•2100 – 150 BC
The Rise of Greek City States
The region declined for
hundreds of years after the
Mycenaeans.
Around 750 BC, the Greek
City state, or polis, starts
to develop.
Cities were built on two
levels, with an acropolis on
the top level.

Governing the City State
•2100 – 150 BC
• At first, city states were ruled by one person, usually a king.
This is called a monarchy. They were often called tyrants.
• Next, it was ruled by a small group of nobles. This is called
an oligarchy.
• New forms of government – democracy would soon develop,
especially in Athens.

•2100 – 150 BC
The Rest of the City States
Below the Acropolis was the
walled part of the city where
everyday life took place.
There were marketplaces,
theaters, public buildings,
and homes.
The market was called the
agora. It was usually in the
center of the city.

•2100 – 150 BC
Sparta
Sparta is a city state
that develops into a
warrior society.
Men spend their lives
dedicated to warfare
and training.
Some women took up
household and economic
responsibilities because
the men were occupied
with war.

Sparta Military Might
•2100 – 150 BC
•Helots Messenians enslaved by the Spartans.

The Gods of Olympus
•2100 – 150 BC
• The Acropolis
• The acropolis of each city had
temples to the Greek gods
and goddesses.
• The Greeks shared one set of
Gods. There were 12 major
gods and goddesses.

Mount Olympus, Home of the
Gods
•2100 – 150 BC

•2100 – 150 BC
The Gods of Olympus

Athens
•2100 – 150 BC

•2100 – 150 BC
Athens: Yesterday and Today
•Athens is a city state that develops into a
democracy.
•A democracy is a place where people vote.
•Only male citizens could vote.
•Athens also focused on arts and learning.

•2100 – 150 BC
Early Athenian Lawgivers
$ Draco
• “draconian”
• End Unrest through
harsh punishment
$ Solon-took first steps
toward democracy
$ Cleisthenes
• created the first
democracy!

•2100 – 150 BC
Piraeus: Athens’ Port City

Persian Wars: 499 BCE – 480 BCE
•Fought between Greece and Persia –
•Cause of Conflict region called Ionia
•2100 – 150 BC

Persian Wars: Famous Battles
$ Marathon (490 BCE)
• 26 miles from Athens
• Inspired the Marathon-Greek victory
$ Thermopylae (480 BCE)
• 300 Spartans were able to hold back
a much larger Persian army
$ Salamis (480 BCE)
• Athenian navy Victory
•2100 – 150 BC

Golden “Age of Pericles”:
460 BCE – 429 BCE
•2100 – 150 BC
•The most influential politician in Athens for
many years following the Persian Wars

Peloponnesian Wars
•2100 – 150 BC
Athens –Delian League
Sparta-Pelponnesian League
Tension between the two leagues; Sparta
becomes the superpower
Later fell to Macedonia

•2100 – 150 BC
• Philosophy
• Religion
• Art and Architecture
• Sport

Socrates
•2100 – 150 BC
•Socrates was a famous Athenian
philosopher.
•He taught Plato, who then taught
Aristotle.
•He was accused of corrupting the
minds of the youth and forced to
commit suicide.
•Know thyself!
•question everything
•only the pursuit of goodness
brings happiness.

Plato
•2100 – 150 BC
•Philosophers were best suited
to govern
•The Academy
•The World of Forms
•The Republic – philosophers
should be king

•2100 – 150 BC
Aristotle
•Concerned with nature and the
world around him
•The Lyceum and the Golden
Mean
•Everything in moderation
•Logic empowers reason
•Scientific method

Hippocrates
•2100 – 150 BC
•Hippocrates was a famous Greek
doctor.
•Doctors today still take the
Hippocratic Oath when they begin their
careers in medicine.
•Its most important part is to do no
harm.

Herodotus
•2100 – 150 BC
•Herodotus is famous for creating
maps of the Ancient Greek world.
•He tried to determine what existed
beyond what the Greeks themselves
knew about.

•2100 – 150 BC
Sophocles
• Sophocles was a famous
Greek dramatist.
• There were two main types of
plays: comedies and
tragedies.
• These plays were very popular
in Greece.

•2100 – 150 BC
Phidias’ Acropolis

The Acropolis Today
•2100 – 150 BC
•Temples for the Gods

The Parthenon
•2100 – 150 BC
•Temple of the Greek Goddess Athena

The Agora
•2100 – 150 BC

•2100 – 150 BC
The Classical Greek “Ideal”

Ionic
Greek Columns
Doric
•2100 – 150 BC
Corinthian

Olympia
•2100 – 150 BC

The Ancient Olympics:
Athletes & Trainers
•2100 – 150 BC

•2100 – 150 BC
The Olympic Games
The ancient Greeks
started the Olympic
games.
They were held to honor
the gods.
There were races,
discuss throwing,
boxing, and a no-holds
barred type of fighting
called pankration.
Only eye gouging and
biting were prohibited.

•2100 – 150 BC
Olympia: Temple to Hera

•2100 – 150 BC
The 2004 Olympics

•2100 – 150 BC
Macedonia Under Philip II
•Took over Greece along with his son, Alexander the Great

•2100 – 150 BC

Alexander the Great
•2100 – 150 BC
•Took over, at age 20,
after his father was
assassinated

•2100 – 150 BC
Alexander the Great’s Empire

•2100 – 150 BC
Alexander the Great in Persia
•Within a year, Alexander conquered Persia

Phalanx tactic
•2100 – 150 BC

•2100 – 150 BC
The Hellenization of Asia
•Greek Like Culture mixed with others throughout Asia

•2100 – 150 BC
Pergamum: A Hellenistic City

•2100 – 150 BC
The Economy of the Hellenistic World

•2100 – 150 BC
Hellenistic Philosophers
$ Cynics Diogenes
• ignore social conventions &
avoid luxuries.
• citizens of the world.
• live a humble, simple life.
$ Epicurians Epicurus
• avoid pain & seek pleasure.
• all excess leads to pain!
• politics should be avoided.

Hellenistic Philosophers
$ Stoics Zeno
• nature is the expansion of divine will.
• concept of natural law.
• get involved in politics, not for personal gain
but to perform virtuous acts for the good of all.
• true happiness is found in
great achievements.
•2100 – 150 BC

•2100 – 150 BC
Hellenism: The Arts & Sciences
$ Scientists / Mathematicians:
• Aristarchus heliocentric theory.
• Euclid geometry
• Archimedes pulley
• Eratosthenes- calculated the size of the world
$ Hellenistic Art:
• More realistic; less ideal than Hellenic art.
• Showed individual emotions, wrinkles, and age!

•2100 – 150 BC
The Breakup of Alexanders Empire
•Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC At age 33